The teaching is organized as follows:

Learning outcomes

Module: MODULO I
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The course (30 hours 6 credits) aims to introduce to the study of : 1) the methodology of the palaeographical expertise, to gain a critical approach to the ancient script; 2) the abbreviation system of the antiquity and medieval age; 3) the ‘Carolina’ script (important to understand also our graphic system) and its historical development .
At the end of the course the student will be able: a) to understand the abbreviation system; 2) to read the graphic specimina of the Carolingian age; 3) to give a critical interpretation of the handwriting’s changes during the four centuries of its use .

Module: MODULO II
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The main goal of this course is to introduce students to the basic codicological and cultural tools needed to study and analyse different types of mediaeval manuscripts.

At the end of the course, students should be able to:

1) Recognize the main types of manuscripts
2) Discuss about the differences between shapes and dimensions of books, especially in relation to their texts and to the evolution in book production
3) Recognise materials and manufacturing techniques employed in book production
4) Describe the making-up and decorative techniques used for the illumination of manuscripts
5) Understand the organization of a scriptorium and of a stationary
6) Recognize the economic and cultural context behind the creation of a manuscript
7) Understand the circulation of books before a library was created.

Program

Module: MODULO I
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Prerequisites: The knowledge of Latin is preferable (it is important to attend a basilar course of Latin).

Syllabus: The course includes a discussion of the following subjects: a) the different aspects of the palaeographical analysis; b) the different abbreviation systems and their abbreviation marks; c) the features of the ‘carolina’ script and the development of the letters’ morphology during the four centuries (IX-XII) of its use.

Theaching maehods: Frontal lessons and workshops/exercises with reading and critical comment of graphic specimina (30 hours). Visits to library or archive are planned.

Bibliography:
A. Petrucci, Prima lezione di paleografia, Roma –Bari 2002; Id., Breve storia della scrittura latina [Roma] 1992 (capp..1-3; 13; 21-22); N. Giovè, Per una storia delle abbreviature latine: una prima ricognizione (I secolo a.C.-IV secolo d.C.), Messina 1993; M. Palma, Tecniche, tendenze e prospettive nuove negli studi paleografici, «Archiv für Diplomatik», 50 (2004), pp. 527-545; A. Pratesi, Le ambizioni di una cultura unitaria: la riforma della scrittura, in Nascita dell’Europa ed Europa carolingia: un’equazione da verificare. Atti del Convegno Spoleto 19-25 aprile 1979, I, Spoleto 1981, pp. 507-523; A. Petrucci, Libro, scrittura e scuola, in La scuola nell’Occidente latino dell’Alto Medioevo. Atti del Convegno Spoleto, 15-21 aprile 1971, I, Spoleto 1972, pp. 313-337
Additional essays will be supplied during the course.

Non-attendant students will have to read additional essays in accordance with the professor.


Module: MODULO II
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During the course, the following topics will be covered:

a) Disciplines for the study of rare books, especially of mediaeval manuscripts
b) Mediaeval manuscripts: history, morphology, materials
c) Manufacturing methods and mise en page
d) From the artisan to the copyist: professions linked to book production
e) Book commerce and foundation of public and private libraries
f) Valorisation of manuscript collections; main description and cataloguing methods

The course will consist of:
a) Lectures;
b) Visits to the Archivio Diocesano Tridentino (Trento). These visits will provide a good opportunity to analyse some mediaeval manuscripts and to discuss about the topics already covered in class.
Students will be required not only to study, but also to put in practice what will be discussed during the lectures: during the course, each student will be given a manuscript to analyse. A detailed report of said manuscript will be a part of the final exam.

Bibliography:
M. Maniaci, Archeologia del manoscritto. Metodi, problemi, bibliografia recente, Roma, Viella, 2002.
A. Petrucci, La descrizione del manoscritto, Roma, Carocci, 20012
Marielisa Rossi, Provenienze, cataloghi, esemplari . Studi sulle raccolte librarie antiche, Manziana (Roma), Vecchiarelli, 2001, pp. 9-82
M.Maniaci, Per una nuova definizione e descrizione dei sistemi di rigatura, in A. Bravo Garcìa – I. Pérez Martín (ed. by), The Legacy of Bernard de Montfaucon: Three Hundred Years of Studies on Greek Handwriting. Proceedings of the Seventh International Colloquium of Greek Palaeography (Madrid – Salamanca, 15-20 September 2008), Turnhout 2010 (Bibliologia, 31A), 333-345

Additional books and articles will be proposed during the course.

Examination Methods

Module: MODULO I
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The oral exam includes:1) reading of graphical specimina (examined and critically commented during the lessons); 2) critical knowledge of the basilar palaeographical expertise and especially of the historical development of the ‘Carolina’ script; 3) deep knowledge and critical exposition of the requested lectures.

Module: MODULO II
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The exam will be oral and will consist of:

I) An exposition of the report on the assigned manuscript;
II) A discussion about the topics covered during the lectures.

The exam will not only evaluate the student general knowledge of the subject, but also the ability to use the specific technical language and, above all, the ability to use the topic discussed during the lectures in the final report.